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Two people were injured Thursday when a large truck collided with a small passenger car on U.S. 160, east of Winfield. Two medical helicopters were dispatched from Wichita for the two who were trapped in the car just east of Cowley 1.
Both victims were Winfield High School students, according to USD 465 Superintendent Marvin Estes. Parents of the students were notified by the Winfield Police Department, he said.
One girl was transported by EagleMed medical helicopter from William Newton Hospital to Via Christi Regional Medical Center, according to EagleMed dispatch service.
A helicopter operated by a different company, Life Team, picked up the second victim, also a teenage girl, at the scene of the accident. It is believed the second victim was also transported to Wichita.
A teenage girl was freed first and taken by ambulance to the landing pad at William Newton Hospital where one helicopter landed. Preliminary reports indicated she suffered facial, throat, and forehead?lacerations along with possible hip and knee injuries.
Emergency personnel were still trying to free the second victim when a second air ambulance landed in a large winter wheat field near the scene of the accident. Extrication was completed at 9:16 a.m., nearly 90 minutes after the accident happened. The patient was in the air at 9:20 a.m., the fire department reported. No information about injuries was available.
Several representatives of USD 465, including Estes, were at the scene.
The accident occurred about 7:45 a.m. Two Winfield ambulances were dispatched to the scene along with both Winfield and Burden emergency fire and rescue equipment.
The first personnel to arrive and triage the scene described a “t-bone” collision with two victims trapped in the car, and requested hospital personnel to determine the availability of the?helicopters. The first patient was transported to the hospital after personnel learned it would take about 30 minutes to get helicopters to the Winfield area.
Cowley County Sheriff and Kansas Highway Patrol officers were on the scene. The Kansas Department of Transportation sent “flaggers” to help with traffic while U.S. 160 was blocked.
Because the truck was a commercial vehicle, the KHP motor carrier investigator was also on the scene.
